Reykjavík Grapevine - 10.08.2012, Page 47

47 The Reykjavík GrapevineIssue 12 — 2012TRAVEL
detour is enchanting and well worth
the steep, bumpy climb. We’re on the
road to Egilsstaðir and soon the mul-
tiple-storey apartment complexes tell
us that we've reached the capital of
the East.
We opt to drive 30 extra minutes
to the more charming town of Seyðis-
fjörður, nestled in a snowy fjord. The
streets are mostly empty at 1:00 AM.
There are two or three cars of local
teenagers driving around town lis-
tening to music and talking loudly. A
friendly cat seems to lead us on a tour
of the sleeping town. Something about
Seyðisfjörður makes me want to call
it home at some point in my life. But
maybe I'm tired and delirious. We go to
sleep.
DAY 3—SUNDAY
My birthday. The car's windows are
covered in raindrops and there's a
constant light drizzle all morning. Noah
and I grab brunch at Hotel Aldan. You
can make your own waffles and sprin-
kle them with bacon bits. Happy birth-
day to me.
About an hour out of Egilsstaðir,
farmland turns into a black desert. In
the midst of this wasteland we turn
onto a gravel road, heading north
to Dettifoss, Europe's most power-
ful waterfall. After such a long jour-
ney through a desert landscape, I'm
shocked when I see the falls—the thun-
dering, brownish-grey waters of the
Jökulsá á Fjöllum river plummet into a
deep, dramatic gorge.
We continue to Ásbyrgi, a horse-
shoe-shaped canyon created, suppos-
edly by the hoof of Odin's eight-footed
horse Sleipnir. A pleasant walk through
the forested park takes us to a pond
at the bottom of the “hoofprint” and
then up along the side edge, affording
a stunning view over the entire area.
Our final stop for the day is Akurey-
ri. The view from across the fjord is
stunning: a glimmering town between
rich green hills and deep blue water. It
feels a bit weird to sleep in the car in a
city, so we get a room at the Akureyri
Guesthouse. We sample some beers
from the nearby brewery Kaldi at Brug-
ghúsbarinn before retiring for a good
night's sleep.
DAY 4—MONDAY
After a morning jaunt around the cen-
tre of town, we grab lunch at the Indian
Curry Hut, a bright-yellow take-away
restaurant on the main street. We're
both pleased to find that their curries
deliver a good kick of spice despite the
tendency for mildness in this country.
Then we lose a couple hours antique
shopping, strolling and eating ice
cream dipped in liquorice shells from
Brynja.
For our next leg of the trip, we
turn off the Ring Road to explore
Skagafjörður, the region where much
of Grettir's Saga unfolds. We follow the
hero's path through the area for the
next leg of our trek. Nothing remains
from Grettir's time; he probably didn't
even exist, but for a medieval dork
like me this is the equivalent of walk-
ing around Paris with a copy of ‘The
Hunchback of Notre Dame.’
A long gravel road from
Sauðárkrókur takes us to Grettislaug,
a naturally occurring hotpot in which
the hero took a dip after swimming the
cold sea from his home on Drangey Is-
land. Refreshed, I get in the car for our
last 300 kilometres through unremark-
able farmland. We listen to Low Roar's
self-titled album quietly four or five
times in a row, chatting intermittently
as we make our understated, stress-
free return into a Reykjavík that feels
just a bit different than it was before
we left it.
The Basics
Distance travelled: 1,785 kilometres
Time spent driving: 25 hours
Money spent on car rental: 57,460 ISK
Money spent on gas: 25,000 ISK
Money spent on accommodation:
8,000 ISK for one night in Akureyri;
slept in the car the other nights
Pro-tips:
-Don't speed. Especially near Blön-
duós. The cops are particularly gruff
with foreigners and I can tell you that
tickets could cost you well over 50,000
ISK.
-There's a card you can pick up for free
at a number of visitor centres, which
gets you get free coffee at any Olís gas
station as many times as you need!
-Be careful of sheep in the road. They
like to hang out there. Slow down. If
they don't move, honk.
-Iceland's campsites have pretty
swanky, with clean bathrooms.
-Bring a swimsuit. No matter the
weather, you never know what you
might stumble upon.
ÞÓRSHÖFN
VOPNAFJÖRÐUR
THORSHOFN
ILULISSAT
ITTOQQORTOORMIIT
NUUK
KULUSUK
NARSARSUAQ
GRÍMSEY
ÍSAFJÖRÐUR
AKUREYRI
EGILSSTAÐIR
REYKJAVÍK
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